Sound-reproducing machine



July 17, 1923- 1,462,269

. cs. DI FALCO SOUND REPRODUCING MACHINE Filed Feb. 1. 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 was JUM

Giovanna Dz Rico his v s 621% July 11, 1923,-

" G. DI FALCO SOUND REPRODUCI NG MACHINE Filed Feb. '1, 1922 I 2 sheets sheet 2 I 1" 5- 46 45 49 g 45 Patented July 17, 1923.

STATES Giovanni: DI FALCO,

or nnw YORK, n. Y.

SQUND-REPRODUCING MACHINE.

Application filed February 1, 1922. Serial No. 533,247.

To allwiaom it may concern:

Beit known that I, GIOVANNI D1 FALco, a citizen of Italy, and residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Sound-Reproducing Machines, of which the following is a specification, such as will enable those skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame. I c

This invention relates to sound reproduc ing machines and particularly to a machine of-this class constructed in'the form of an old-fashioned clock and provided in thetop mitofthe repeatingor the reproduction of.

- apredetermined record; a further object be: ing-to provlde means 111' operative connection with the clock mechamsm of themachine whereby the rotary disk-supporting table may be automaticallystarted at a predeterminedhour; andwith these and other objects in view the invention consists in a machine of the class and for the purpose specified which is simple in construction and operation and efficient muse, and which 18 constructed as hereinafter described and claimed.

The invention panying drawing forms a part, in which the separate parts of my improvement are designated by suitable reference characters in each of the views, and in whichz Fig. 1 is a front View of my improved machine 'with, parts of the construction.

broken away; A c Fig. 2 a detail view of. a part of the construction shown incFig. 1 on anenlarged scale;

Fig. 3

a partial-section on. the line 33 Fig. 4a detail sectional View on the'line H of Fig.1 onan' enlarged scale;

Fig. 5 a diagrammaticviewv of the tone arm-operating.mechanism which I employ and showing the same in aposition about to is fully disclosed in the fol-v lowing specification, of which the acoom be raised and moved outwardlyand radially over a record; i

Fig. 6 a side view of the construction shown in Fig; 5 7 i Fig. 7 a plan view of the construction shown-in Figs. 5 and 6 and indicating the movement of the tone arm of my improved operating mechanism; and, v Fig. 8 a partial sectional View on the lin 88 of Fig. 6' showing a detail of the construction. I v i In. Fig. 1 of the drawing I have shown at 10 an elongated box-shaped cabinet preferably mounted on legs 11, the lower end portion of the cabinet is provided with a compartment closed by a door 12 in which compartment the reproducible records are adapted to be stored, and in the top of the cabinet is mounted a clock mechanism; of any kind or class the dial 18 of which opens outwardly through the front .of the cabinet and is provided with minute and hour hands 14 mounted upon the usual spindle 15,,and. mounted upon said spindle --or fupon the shank of one of said minuteand hour hands, preferably the hour hand, is a supplemental dial ldwhichextends inwardly through the dial 13 of the clock and is providedwith a cam 17 having a notch or recess 18 at a predetermined point in the periphery thereof.

Approximately centrally of the cabinet is. the usual horn 19 which may be closed by a hinge door 20, if desired, and within the compartment in which the horn-19 is mount ed, is the usual spring orother motor which said compartment and the sound box 25 thereof, or the needle of said sound-box mechanism is adapted to operate in connection with a record 26 mounted'upon the table 22. I 'Mounted in the top portion ofthe com:

partment 23 is'a transverse frame member .27 in which is mounted a shaft 28 provided with a pivoted extension 29, the lower end of which is adapted to be coupled withthe is not shown in detail herein for the reason;

the machine, and the usual tone 2&111124; of the reproducing mechanlsm is also located in upper end of the shaft 21 of the spring motor mechanism, preferably by a tongue and groove coupling and a sleeve for holding said parts in a coupled position.

The shaft 28 is provided with a pinion 31 in connection with which a gear 32 mount ed on a shaft 33 operates and another pinion 34 mounted on the shaft 33 operates in connection with a gear 35 on a shaft 36, the lower end of the shaft 36 is provided with a beveled pinion 37 which meshes with a similar pinion 38 on a horizontal shaft 39, and secured to said shaft is a disk 40 provided with an outwardly and upwardly directed arm 4l To the top of the shaft 36 is secured an arm 42 which is adapted to rotate with said shaft and in the free end of said arm is a vertically threaded pin 43 which passes through an elongated slot 44 in a disk 45 and a suitable nut 46 is mounted upon the pin 43 for securing the disk 45 in connection with the arm 42 in different positions of adjustment.

I also mount in connection with the tone arm 24, or the sound box 25 thereof a vertical arm 47 at the free end of which is an adjustable part 48 provided with a rectangular horizontal extension 49 which is adapted to operate in connection with the disk 45 as hereinafter described, and the arm 47 is provided with an outwardly directed finger 50 which is adapted to operate in connection with the arm 41 of the disk 46 as hereinafter described.

Mounted in the compartment below the table 22 is a stop and start device 51 com prising a shaft 52 mounted in a suitable support 53, said shaft being provided with an arm 54 carrying a friction roller which is adapted to engage the lower face of the table 22, as clearly shown in Fig. 4, and secured to the shaft 52 is another arm 56 which is normally held in a raised position by a rod 57 which also holds the roller in engagement with the table 22, and a spiral spring 58 is employed for pulling the arm 56 downwardly and the roller 55 in a corresponding direction to start the rotary' movement of the table 22 and to be moved out of engagement therewlth. The rod 57 extends upwardly through the compartment 23and is connected with the free end of a lever 59 pivoted as shown at 60, and connected with said lever is another rod 61 producing machine and the automatic starting mechanism and replaying mechanism will be readily understood from the foregoing description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing and the following statement.

If it be desired to automatically start the motor of the machine to reproduce a record placed upon the table 22 at a predetermined hour of the day, the supplemental dial 16 bearing the numerals 1 to 12 inclusive spaced in the same manner as the numerals on the clock dial 13 is rotated to bring thathour of the day represented on the dial at which it is desired to reproduce the record in line with the hour hand of the clock, as for example in Fig. 2, twelve oclock which is shown in alinement with the hour hand of the clock regardless of the location of the hour hand at the time of setting the supplemental .dial 16, and when this hour hand reaches 'the numeral 12 upon the dial 13, the notch or recess 18 will assume a position in alinement with the projection 64 of the lever 62, and said lever will drop into said notch or recess by the action ofthe spring 58 and the lever 59 and arm 56 will be correspondingly moved downwardly, the shaft 52 correspondingly rotated and the arm 54 with the roller 55 thereof moved to start the rotary movement of the table 22 and also to move out of engagement therewith. The quick action of the spring 58 caused by the sudden drop of the lever 62 will facilitate the starting, or initial rotation, of'the disk or table 22, which is necessary to permit of the proper operation of the sound reproducing mechanism, it being apparent that the tone arm 24 and the sound box 25 thereof is normally in a position shown in Fig. 1, or in the position indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 7 with the needle of the sound-box 25 resting upon the record 26, or in one of the grooves thereof.

As the disk or table 22 is rotated, the arm 24 and sound-box 25 are moved inwardly and radially of the table 22 and the record 26 thereon in the usual manner, and it will be apparent that the arm 47 will be carried therewith, and when the end of the record has been reached, or when the needle of the sound-box is in the last groove of the record the finger 50 comes in the path of the projecting arm 51 on the disk 40 and is engaged by said arm which operates to raise the sound-box out of engagement with the rte ord-26, as clearly shown inFigsr5, 6 and? of the drawing, and in this operation the an gular horizontal extension '49 of the arm 47, or the adjustable end 48 thereof, is pro jected above the top face of the disk 45"and as said disk is rotated it passes beneath the extension 49, and said extension drops upon the disk 45 and said diskoperates to carry and move the tone arm 24 and the soundlowing the tone arm and sound-box to again drop into position to engage the needle of the sound-box in the outermost groovesof the record topermit of the replaying'of said record. 1 v I t The above operation may be repeated as often as maybe ClGSlIGL, and when it is desired to stop the same the supplemental dial 16 is rotated from left to right'to disengage the entensioniG of the lever 62 from the notch or recess 18,which operation will return the levers 62and 59 as well as thearms 56and 5a to theirnormal or operative positions, in which the roller is again brought in contact with the disk or; table 22* to hold the same against rotation. I

The finger 50 adj ustably mounted in the arm 4:7 whereby said finger will be brought into the path of the arm el'regardless of the position of the last or innermost groove on the record, it being apparent that in some cases the distance of the innermost grooves from the axis of the record varies, but the adjustment of the finger 50 will compensate for this variation, and by reason of the elon-- gated slot as in the disk 45, the position of this disk in the arm 42 may be adjusted to compensate for records of different diameters, it being apparent that it will be necessary to move the tone arm and sound-box outwardly to a further extent on a twelve inch record than ona ten'inch record.

It will be apparent that in the above described operation of my improved replaying mechanism, or means for automatically returning the tone arm or sound-box into position to again reproduce the record on the table 22 that said mechanism is operated by the motor which rotates the disk or table 22 by reason of the coupling with the motor shaft 21 through the shaft extension 29, whereby the several gears and pinions 31, 32, 34%, 85, 37and 38 are rotated to operate the disk 40 with the arm 41 thereon, as well as the disk 45. hen it is desired to use the machine without the replaying mechanism the sleeve 30 is raised upon the shaft extension 29 and said extension is uncoupled from the motor shaft 21 and israised into the position indicated in dotted lines in Fig. l, in which position the shaft 19 is supported in a hooksshaped support thus putting the re-starting mechanism out of operation and facilitating the placement of different records upon the table 22 and the reproduction thereof in the usual manner, and in this operation the stopping and, starting mechanism 51.will be retained in its inoperative position by placing the extension 64; of the lever 62 in the notch or recess 18 of the supplemental dial 16, and the usual means for stopping and starting the disk or table 22 commonly employed in machines of this classwill be operated for stopping and starting the'disk or table 22. p i

It will be apparent that I am not necessarily limited to the specific form and construction of the cabinet of the machinehere in shown and described, nor to the various details of the construction herein shown and described for accomplishing the desired re-' sult, and various changes therein and modi-" fications thereof may be made, within the scope of the appended claims, without de- 1 partin fromthe spirit of. my invention or sacrificing its advantages; u

Having fully ClGSCIlbGCl my invention,

what'l claim as new anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A-repeating mechanism for sound reproducing machines, comprising a rotatable member, means involving aftrain of gears for rotating said-member, said member being provided with an adjustable platform and a part carried by the tone arm of the machine adapted to be engaged by said platform to move said tone arm transversely of the record supporting table of themachine. i

2. A repeating mechanism for sound reproducing machines, comprising a rotatable member, means involving a train of gears forrotating said member, said member being provided with an adjustable platform, a part carried by the tone arm of the machine adapted to be engaged by said platform to move said tone arm transversely of the record supporting table of the machine, and means in operative connection with said rotatable member for raising said part into position to be engaged by said rotatable member.

3. The combination with a sound reprocoupling and uncoupling the same with the protruding motor driven shaft of the machine, and cooperating means on said tone arm and repeating mechanism "for moving said tone arm into inoperative and operative positions.

4. The combination with a sound reproducing machine involving a motor, rotatable table and tone arm, of a repeating mechanism stationarilysupported above the table of the machine and involving a rotatable element, means movably mounted in con nection with said mechanism for coupling and uncoupling said rotatable element with the protruding 'motor driven shaft of the machine, an adjustable arm carried by the tone arm and adapted to be engaged by said rotatable element to move said tone arm out of engagement with a record support on the table of the machine and transversely of said record and to place said tone arm in engagement with the outermost grooves of the record, said repeating mechanism being provided with means in operative connection with said coupling means for moving the adjustable arm of the tone arm into position to be engaged by said rotatable ele ment, and means for adjusting the position of said rotatable element.

5. The combination with a sound reproducing machine involving a motor, rotatable table and tone arm, of a repeating mechanism rigidly mounted and retained in pre determined position above the table of the machine, said mechanism being provided with a movable coupling shaft adapted to be coupled with the protruding motor driven shaft of the machine, and said mechanism involving a rotatable member, and a rotatable element geared in connection with said coupling shaft.

6. The combination with a sound reproducing machine involving a motor, rotatable table and tone arm, of a repeating mechanism mounted and retained in predetermined position above the table of the machine, said mechanism being provided with a movable coupling shaft adapted to be coupled with the protruding motor driven shaft ofthe machine, said mechanism involving a rotatable member, a rotatable element geared in connection with said coupling shaft, and means carried by said tone arm and adapted to be moved into engagement with said rotatable element by said rotatable member to move said tone arm out of engagement with a record supported on said table transversely of the table and into engagement with the outermost grooves of said record.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I' have signed my name this 30th day of January 1922.

GIOVANNI DI FALCO. 

